BBC Radio Internet Streaming

[valkyrie]

I’m currently living in an area with very poor radio reception, so all my radio listening is via internet radio on a little Marantz streamer. BBC programmes have started to include a message saying that their internet service is stopping. I can’t find any info on this anywhere, anyone know what’s happening?

[Mrs Pingu]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/supported-devices/internet-radio-requirements
?

[aidan.f]

Reads like your device has become obsolesent due to service charges. It's a feature of the modern world I'm afraid.

[Mrs Pingu]

Squeezebox is ancient and it seems to be working with BBC Sounds somehow. We can even see the track list when listening to that weeks' Gideon Coe shows.

[grams]

I found this:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/internet/entries/481e7233-0aea-4b15-8ace-878ce549108c

It looks to me like the streams were previously accessed through a third-party URL and those URLs are being switched off.

If you (or the manufacturer) have some way of updating the URL you can continue to use it. It's worth checking if there's a firmware update or a way to download a new copy of the stream directory that might fix it.

[DaveReading]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/supported-devices/internet-radio-requirements
?

Nothing on that link to suggest that you can't listen to live radio on the Internet.  Or am I missing something?

[Robh]

Squeezebox is ancient and it seems to be working with BBC Sounds somehow. We can even see the track list when listening to that weeks' Gideon Coe shows.

Really?? I've got an old Squeezebox unit tucked away somewhere, I may give it a try. Sonos is so fussy about what it will play and when, it's driving me nuts.

[Pingu]

Mrs P is referring to Logitech Media Server if you need to FISE it.

[Mrs Pingu]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/supported-devices/internet-radio-requirements
?

Nothing on that link to suggest that you can't listen to live radio on the Internet.  Or am I missing something?

It didn't, but equally from the OP it wasn't clear to me if it was live or on demand he'd been getting the messages on, hence why I posted it with a question mark.

[Pickled Onion]

Squeezebox stopped working with on-demand some time ago, but the "live" feed still works. I say "live" because it lags a bit, if you have the radio on for a few hours it can be twenty minutes or more behind the real time.

[Mrs Pingu]

You can still get on demand for Squeezebox, Pingu says you just need to download the BBC Sounds app on Logitech Media Server. It even gives you the track listings these days.

[Pingu]

You probably need a fairly recent version of LMS to get the Sounds plugin. We're on version 8.0.1

[Mrs Pingu]

I assume this refers to the message you've been hearing.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/supported-devices/third-party-closure

[aidan.f]

Raspberry pi running mOOde player is our  internet  radio / nas streamer. We have an IR  remote with BBC radio 2/3/4 as presets and smartphone GUI for the music collection. It's a bit of a hack I admit but it's all open source and upgrades are regular.

[Pingu]

Just found out that there's a plug in for Bandcamp for this version of LMS 

[Tim Hall]

I had the same message this morning, listening to 6Music on my Raspberry Pi running Kodi and the internet radio add on.  I shall be peeved if I can't get BBC radio this way.

<off to the kodi forums for enlightenment>

[Tim Hall]

Found this on the BBC website. My bold.

*** Updated 5 March 2021 ***

We’re actively helping service aggregators who got in touch since the messaging on the affected radio streams started. This includes devices that use TuneIn (e.g. Sonos). We expect that most will make the necessary changes shortly.

Once you notice that the messaging has stopped (which is moving to every two hours), then the update has been made and you’ll no longer be affected by this change.

*** 4 March 2021 ***

The BBC has changed the way it distributes live radio online. If you listen to BBC live radio and hear the following message, please contact your device manufacturer and refer them to our blog post advising manufacturers of the change.

"The way your device receives BBC radio programmes will stop working on or after the 22nd March 2021. If you’re using an internet radio or smart speaker, please contact the device manufacturer. If you’re using an app on another device, we recommend you listen using the BBC Sounds app or website."

Most devices have already been updated by manufacturers and their service partners (who manage internet radio streams on devices). If you don’t hear the above message - repeated once an hour - your device has already been updated.

[Gattopardo]

So sheeple  , if you are interested as to why the BBC have changed the service, well the BBC is pushing 3rd party users to get data from users.  So if you like your listening to be anonymous and BBC not see what else you are doing.

Trying to find the articles written, but cannot.

[Pickled Onion]

You probably need a fairly recent version of LMS to get the Sounds plugin. We're on version 8.0.1

Thanks! Great tip. I've been using the iplayer plugin rather than the app. It wouldn't work on 7.9.0 but it does work on 7.9.4.

I can't convince Max2Play to install the 8.* version, and worried I might brick it with a manual install.

[Tim Hall]

The radio plugin I use on kodi gets its streams from radio.de. I emailed them, just in case they weren't aware. I gad a nice reply thanking me for alerting them. (I bet they knew about it already)

[Pickled Onion]

You probably need a fairly recent version of LMS to get the Sounds plugin. We're on version 8.0.1

Thanks! Great tip. I've been using the iplayer plugin rather than the app. It wouldn't work on 7.9.0 but it does work on 7.9.4.

I can't convince Max2Play to install the 8.* version, and worried I might brick it with a manual install.

Managed to get 8.1.1 installed - 8.2 nightly from Saturday doesn't work. Coolio.

[Pickled Onion]

So the latest wheeze from the beeb to force people on to Sounds is to delay podcast release by four weeks. They are spinning it as "you can get your podcasts 28 days earlier on BBC Sounds".

This is crazy for things like the Friday Night Comedy Podcast which is normally topical. A bit pointless listening to it four weeks later.

I don't mind using Sounds, in fact I use it every day for lots of stuff. But for podcasts the interface is a complete pain when cycling, which is where I listen to podcasts rather than streamed for obvious reasons.

[hubner]

I tried using BBC sounds on their website. No I'm not going to sign in  .

[chrisbainbridge]

I am willing to accept adverts or even subscription models but apple podcasts just work. I suspect they will see a drop in listening figures.

[jdsnape]

This has really annoyed me as I've moved away from a smart phone back to a Nokia dumb phone, which doesn't support BBC sounds. That means if I want to listen to podcasts while out I'm out of luck!

I suppose it might be possible to work out where the sounds app downloads its files from, but I'm not sure I can be bothered to put in the effort...